Show I I ON RA AJ U E M I that Ao Are Valuable luau Some Somo people Ire Are under the impression slon sion that time the now fairly familiar whit whitish Ish metal platinum Is one of at the tho few ow substances more marc expensive than that ehlow material we ve spend so l 1 I a porton portion or of odI s e In hunt ThIs however Is not so even cven at al allowing lowing that buk b by bulk platinum Is hl hardly Id I less Oman thon twice its as hea heavy as an angold gold At the tho rate or of 20 per tro troy ounce gold Is worth nearl nearly 3 n a pound I If though you ou weN vere the fortunate i or of a lump hum of platinum equal uld In bulk to u a pound or of 1011 gold time the silvery I looking lump would be worth not ot 10 but 1 I for tor if IC not time the dearest II is the heaviest timing thing on onearth earth Three times ns as costly and practical I I 19 mIS henvy is hI that wonderfuL metal metai Iridium known to the tho users ot of gold old pons a as furnishing time tho Intense I hard haro silvery lver Points point Pure Is priced at O Per pound ieso heavy relatively that this weight or of It would be In bun built rather larger than hal half time the size of Q a pound of gold Yet iet the Iridium points or of ofa u a goll gold nib are not ot of pu pure IrIdium but butor butof or of a natural ot of Iridium and nd ni an other oilier rare metal This blend Is found In time the form torm or of scales aOle mine II flattened sonic some or of a pinhead localIties Where llacer gold goldIs Is got ot placer goll gold beIng the sort HOlt that thatIs Is by washing loose dirt and not b by crushing or of these scales the pin head hend arc suitable fur tur pen and do not exceed Q a frh fifth or of time tho yearly Ind find hicl ma may average an and n a half hal to four ounces per ton or of goll gold obtained Of the pin ead stales do 10 not weigh more titan than an ounce and are arc worth about W Pure Iridium Is nl al loy hoyed wih with platinum to make time the cbs lag Ine faces of oC for tor modern I artillery this compound being time tho only timing thing that wi will stand the tho corro corra corrosion I slen sion of the gases and the enormous 40 degrees centigrade e Over Oer n a rounds have hae been fred fired from a trIal gun without the vent ent showing time the sign or of wear ear Jor For pure puro osmium there II Is not ot n a great deal ot of us use except In chemistry yet the rarIty or of It drives up tip the price to nO 0 an ounce n a tro troy Pound At a temperature or of 10 degrees can cen centigrade this singular metal vaporizes and gives ar off a gas gaB which stains the experimenters skin n a black and which may blind him by deposit lag n a fm film ot of time the metal on the thu eyeball Rhodium Is another or of the metals belonging to what Is known as time the platinum group I It I is one ot of the hardest metals to mel melt an and I only yield to time electric arc or the I lime furnace It can be 10 uso like IrIdiUm for tor pointing Rold gold pens pens Is Its cost figures out to 12 a pound but nt at that It Is n a trifle lighter timan gold when whon taken bulk for or bulk I The curiously named metal pahia Iland stands at per pound poune pala and I In appearance Is or of a to steel grey Ono Ommo per cent of it makes gold cold brite brittle and I 20 I per cent cent turns the compound quite I white The Tho air has no In influence what I ever eer on nor dols does Is tar I nish In sulphuric gases For these reasons It II is used In alloy with gold wih for tor the tho finely graduated scales of alu able astronomical Instruments I It In stead of a silver currency we employ ed cd nn any ot of almost incredibly cost I I we wa could rould Ret get thought enough or of them which would be dim IB Ideas or of value would under dlf go a change An n irIdium dime without looking any different would bo worth and an Ollum osmium one would have an exchange able value ot of twice the tho amount Small change lii In either meta metal would have Smal to bo be mae maIe by an expert h |